


Running Wild

by phdmama



Series: What Happens When Harry's at Work [4]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 08:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11963262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phdmama/pseuds/phdmama
Summary: Harry never knows what's going to happen with Louis, even after all their years of marriage. Another chapter in the series "What Happens When Harry's at Work."





	Running Wild

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elleb1986](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elleb1986/gifts).



> The MBTA is the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Boston's public transit system, and is known around here as the T.
> 
> Also please note that this fic contains images, and if you download it as a mobi for the Kindle, I don't think the images go with it (I honestly don't know about the other formats). I haven't currently transcribed the text in the images to the fic. If there's a need for it, let me know!
> 
> Usual disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, meant only to entertain. Please don’t break the 4th wall or post anywhere else! 
> 
> As always, the words, as well as the errors, are mine. 
> 
> Massive thank you to my [Emmu](http://londonfoginacup.tumblr.com/) for the beta read!! xoxox
> 
> This is for my lovely friend [sharktoofs](https://sharktoofs.tumblr.com/) because she had a rotton day. I hope this makes you smile, darling. The referenced conversation was taken just about verbatim in case you were wondering.

L: HARRY

H: Yeah baby? Everything okay?

L: Are you busy?

H: Uh, kind of. I’m still at work. Aren’t we meeting at Tosca in 30 since they let you back in?

L: Change of venue!!

H: Okay, where do you want to go.

L: Well, I’m already here actually. I’m going to need you to come meet me.

H: Wait what? Are you okay? What’s going on?

L: Um, I’m fine.  
    ...but I might be in just a little bit of trouble.

H: WHAT HAPPENED?

L: It’s probably best if I just, you know, explain it in person.

H: WHERE ARE YOU

L: I’m at the MBTA police station. 240 South Hampton Street.  
    You’re going to have to Lyft over, there’s no T stop, can you believe it?    
    OUTRAGEOUS.

H: …  
    I think you’re missing the point. I’m on my way.

Harry shut his laptop with a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He caught Steve’s eye and said, “I have to head out. Louis is. Uh.”

Steve’s grin widened, having met Louis at multiple office events over the years, not to mention having heard Harry’s stories. “Oh no. What now?”

“I think maybe he got arrested? I don’t know, he wouldn’t tell me the story. He’s at the MBTA police station, and he wanted me to come get him. Maybe bail him out? He didn’t sound too upset, so who the hell knows.”

Steve snorted. “Well, good luck with that. We’ve got the GE meeting tomorrow, see you then?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’m good to go, actually, so this bailing Louis out of jail thing won’t set me back.”

They grinned at each, and then Harry quickly called a Lyft while he packed his things up. By the time the car dropped him in front of the blocky industrial building, he had to admit, he was a bit anxious. While Louis didn’t always have the best judgement, he’d never actually be arrested before, and if Harry knew his husband, and he did, Louis was probably reveling in the new experience.

He approached the officer at the front desk, who was sitting behind the bulletproof glass partition, who eyed him with a bored expression. “Can I help you?” His tone conveyed perfectly his total lack of interest in helping Harry in any manner whatsoever.

“Uh, I’m here to pick up my husband? Louis Tomlinson? He texted me that he was here?”

“Oh,” the officer’s expression changed and his eyes lit up. “You’re Harry? Awesome, you can come right back!”

The officer pointed over to the locked door, and as Harry approached it, he heard a loud buzz and the click of the locking mechanism disengaging, and quickly hurried through it. The officer stepped out from behind the desk and grinned. “Yeah, Louis’s back here in holding. I’m Alex, desk duty today.”

“Oh god,” Harry said, “Is he in big trouble? What happened?”

The officer snorted. “He’s not in trouble at all, there was just… an incident on the train, and we needed him to come in and give his statement. Our nurse checked him out, he’s fine, just gonna have one hell of a shiner.”

“What the hell?” Harry hurried after Alex who led him through a large office filled with desks. The population of the room seemed to be even divided between men and women in uniforms and those in suits, and Harry could see the interest all of them were taking in him.

Alex called out to a uniformed officer who was sitting at his desk in the center of the room, “Janie, where’s Louis? I thought he was with you? This is his husband.”

“Oh, great,” Janie stood up and grinned as she walked over to meet them. She held out her hand and smiled at Harry, “It’s great to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Harry sighed. Classic Louis. Whatever else had happened, he’d clearly charmed this entire station of police professionals.

“Anyway,” Janie said, “Louis’ in booking. I mean,” Here she threw Harry a perplexed look. “He’s not been arrested, once we determined that he wasn’t drunk. I explained it to him but he insisted that we leave him in there. He said he’s soaking up the ambiance. For research?”

“Yeah, he’s a writer,” Harry said distractedly. “Is he okay?”

Janie said casually, “It looks a lot worse than it is, see for yourself,” and opened the door to a small room.

Harry saw his husband sitting at a scarred wooden table, his head in his hands. Unlocked handcuffs were around his wrists, and when he heard the door open, he leapt to his feet, shouting, “I demand my lawyer! You can’t hold me here like this, it’s inhu — oh Harry, hey!”

As Louis pulled the cuffs off his wrists and dropped them onto the table, Harry stared. There was a smear of blood under his nose, blood on his shirt, and yes, Alex was right, he was going to have one hell of a shiner. Harry moved quickly towards him, and tilted Louis’ chin up to the ceiling so he could take a better look at the rapidly-forming bruise under his eye.

“What the fuck happened to you? Are you okay?” Harry felt himself torn between rage that someone had hurt Louis and a sneaking sense of exasperation, based on years of experience, that it was possible that in some small way, Louis had perhaps brought this upon himself.

Louis frowned and then winced. “Yeah.” He grabbed an ice pack that was sitting on the table. “I’m okay. It’s a bit sore. You’ll never believe what happened, Harry!”

And with that, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t begin to estimate how many stories he’d heard from Louis that began with those exact words, but he had a feeling this one might actually top them all.

He turned to Officer Janie and said, “Is he being charged with anything? Are we free to go?”

She smiled and led them back down the hallway into the larger room. “Nope. He’s free to go. Louis,” and here she stuck out her hand with a grin, “I want to thank you for one of the more entertaining afternoons of my life.”

Louis grinned back, and shook her hand. “I’ll give you a call next week about lunch, okay?”

Of course. Harry shook his head. Of course, Louis would wind up in a police station on suspicion of drunk and disorderly, and of course he would actually be stone-cold sober, and of course, he’d walk out with new friends for life. Of course. There was really no other way it could have gone, knowing Louis.

They made their way out of the station with a chorus of goodbyes at their backs, and Louis said, “Big Mike says the tavern down the street is really not bad, carries a couple of really nice pinot noirs he thought you’d like. Want to go get a drink?” He offered Harry a hopeful smile and Harry just laughed, shaking his head and wondering who the hell Big Mike was.

“Yeah, of course.”

After they’d gotten settled at their table, after the waitress had given a soft cry of alarm at Louis’ battered appearance and had sped off, vowing to put fresh french fries on for him immediately, and their wine had been served, Harry took a long sip. He paused for a moment to appreciate what was, truly, a spectacular red, and then said, “Okay. What the fuck. What happened?”

Louis pressed the ice pack to his cheek. “It’s really a funny story, darling.”

Harry just nodded.

“So, I made a post on my tumblr, you know, The World’s Greatest Author, the one that I made that time?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well,” Louis continued, “my friend Sharktoofs texted me about it.”

“Sharktoofs? What?”

“My friend, that’s her name,” Louis said patiently.

Harry nodded. “What was the post.”

Louis pulled out his phone and handed it over, showing Harry.

Harry snorted and handed the phone back. “Is that what that look is?”

Louis gave him an affronted frown and said “I am _working_ on it, asshole. It makes me crazy that you can do it and I can’t, and you don’t even use the power that you have at your disposal.”

Harry leaned nonchalantly against the high wooden back of the booth and raised one eyebrow at Louis who just rolled his eyes in response.

“Anyway, I had a conversation with Sharky about it, maybe you should just read it.” He opened the app and scrolled back a bit, and then handed the phone again to Harry. Harry began to read.

 Harry read the conversation with a sinking sensation in his gut and when he got to the last text sent, he stared at Louis with a look of horror on his face.

“Louis, no.” He said firmly.

“Louis, yes.” Louis said back, just as firmly.

“Louis, what did you do?”

Louis had the grace to look a bit sheepish. “I just thought it would be funny. I decided to get on the T a bit early and see what happened.”

Harry shook his head and handed Louis back his phone. “And what, exactly happened? How did you end up like…” he waved a hand vaguely to encompass the bloodstained shirt and bruises that Louis was now sporting. “You know, this.”

“Well,” Louis shifted a bit, and gave the waitress a smile as she set down a fresh ice pack and his cheese fries. “It turns out that most people don’t think it’s funny when you slide in next them on the T, wink at them and then whisper aggressively, ‘The shark sent me.’ It turns out most people find it alarming. And they think you’re drunk.”

He looked so honestly aggrieved at the last point that Harry burst out laughing, suddenly flushed with love for this ridiculous, ridiculous man. He shook his head affectionately and said, “Yeah, babe, that’s not really a shock. I mean, you wouldn’t find it alarming? Someone doing that to you?”

Louis shrugged and sipped his wine. “I don’t find that many things alarming, Harry, you know that. Except for the fact that it’s fucking August 31st and the pumpkin items are already showing up in the store.”

Harry sighed, feeling as he often did, that keeping up with Louis’ brain was really not an easy task.

“You love the pumpkin items, Louis.”

“Well, yes,” Louis said, just a bit belligerently, “but not in _summer,_ Harry. Summer is for fruit and ice cream and cold beer that is not spiced in any way, shape or form. Pumpkin is not for summer. It’s not seemly.”

Knowing that Louis could sustain this rant for quite some time if left to his own devices, Harry said loudly, “But the bruises and the blood, Louis, what about those?”

“Oh,” Louis said casually, “It turns out people thought I was drunk and someone called the police and when they tried to ask me to come with them, I ran away shouting something along the lines of ‘You’ll never take me alive!’ but then I slipped on a newspaper and went headfirst into the pole.” He touched the bruise on his cheek and winced. “It’s probably going to be on Youtube, I think people were filming.” He turned a mournful gaze to Harry and whispered, "They took me alive, baby."

“Oh, Louis.” Harry shook his head again and smiled. “I never know what you’re going to do next, do I?”

Louis smiled back and laid his hand over Harry’s. “For better or for worse, right, baby?”

Harry turned his hand over and threaded his fingers through Louis’, feeling like a key slotting perfectly into the lock it was made for. He remembered again something his mother had said, years ago, long before he’d met Louis and married him.

“Choose someone who makes you laugh. Choose someone who keeps you on your toes, who’s on fire with life and energy and joy. Choose someone like that, sweetheart, and you’ll live a life beyond your wildest imaginings.”

 _I did, Mama,_ Harry thought to himself, _I sure did._

He sighed again at the bruising on his beautiful Louis’ face and then pulled him across the table for a kiss.

“I love you, baby. Forever.”

And then, Louis smiled, and said back the very same thing he’d been saying to Harry since the very first time Harry had told him loved him. “Forever and a day, my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come say hi on Tumblr! If you enjoyed this, the rest of my stuff can be found here!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I would love it if you left a kudos or a comment, they all make my day brighter and inspire me to write more!
> 
> Even better, [here's the rebloggable post on Tumblr](https://phd-mama.tumblr.com/post/164843565653/running-wild)! If you wanted to share it, that would be amazing!!


End file.
